There is a half-moon shaped coliseum with an arena for battle, flanked by a stage and seating on either side, a roof to shield all present from the weather.
Epic battles can be painted with one’s imagination looking on as the Yavapai College Historical Fencing Club practices at the outdoor pavilion on the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale.
Led by math professor Shane Gibson, a handful of gladiators come together to recreate various attacks and counterattacks that harmonize in what essentially becomes a swordfight. At the end of the day, it is a group of people with a common interest in learning the techniques and getting some exercise, with some history involved, as well.
“What gives us legitimacy, and we’re not just [live action role players] showing up in the park or something like that, is we study historical manuals,” Gibson said. “There’s pictures, there’s texts that are really hard to translate sometimes. We can talk about how they used this, why they used this, and just kind of understanding …. There’s definitely some history to it.”
The specific footwork and strikes are not simply made up. Gibson said a lot of the choreographed fencing as seen in movies or shows, like the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” are actually not that impressive.
The techniques he teaches come from manuals written by a couple of masters who derive their own interpretation of the fighting styles from centuries past. Likened to a type of martial art, they can be best related to differing schools of thought.
Gibson teaches from the manuals of the German grand master Johannes Liechtenauer and the Italian Fiore Liberi, but mostly errs on the side of Liechtenauer. As he demonstrates, jargon like thwart, thrust, pommel, parry, strike, jab, cut and master cut are thrown around. John Larimer understands it all. Larimer, who had Gibson as a professor, was the only one to show up on this particular day.
It is not a largely popular activity — the open steel division at the recently held SoCal Sword Fights in Huntington Beach, Calif., drew 25 participants. At that competition, Gibson took first in the sword and buckler division and third in advanced steel, which had only about 12 competitors, he said. He also won the sword and buckler division at Combat Con in Las Vegas recently.
Gibson did, however, find people to practice with during his honeymoon around Europe, in places like Amsterdam and London.
“I’ve always been interested in swords, always wanted to do fencing,” Gibson said. “First of all, I do it for exercise and fitness, that’s definitely a big part. But it’s my main passion. I think about it a lot, I love fighting, I love fencing, you get a rush from it.”
Matches last just about one minute, but are fast-paced. Three judges with flags watch on alongside a ring boss, and when it is determined that one competitor struck another, play is stopped and a decision to award a point is made.
Gibson has equipment of his own that his pupils use. In order to compete, a fighter must have a heavy jacket, mask, gloves, knee and elbow pads and rigid throat protection. The swords have no sharp edges, but they do break at times, which can prove dangerous.
“When you’re fencing and somebody is coming at you with a sword, it doesn’t matter if you’re tired, you kind of have to do something about it,” Gibson said. “It gives you a reason to persist, I guess.”
The club at Yavapai College is a branch of the Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship, Gibson said, of which he is a member. He commonly travels to the Valley to train and compete. None of his pupils in Clarkdale compete — some have considered it — but they still find satisfaction from participating.
“I love the people, but more than that I just love learning fighting with swords. It’s kind of a nerdy thing to say, but it’s awesome to take a piece of steel and make it into an art form in your hands,” Larimer said. “Everbody’s really cool here. Shane’s a great instructor, he’s super friendly, there’s no real air of competition about it. It’s all just trying to be better at swordsmanship.”
Gibson originally met with his pupils at a local park and drew interest through advertisements on Craigslist. Now he spreads the word about the club on campus through flyers and giving a presentation to his classes. Participation is not restricted to students and is open to the public. Anyone interested in joining can reach Gibson at shane.gibson@yc.edu.
At the end of the day, this activity can be interpreted in a variety of ways. At that outdoor pavilion on the Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus, battles happen unknown to much of the rest of the student body. With some imagination, they are more than just people learning some history and footwork.
“I was expecting it to definitely be beating people with swords and sticks and stuff,” Larimer said. “I tell you what, there’s a whole lot more art. There’s so much more art in this swordsmanship. You can basically call it a lifestyle. It really is, it’s amazing.”
